Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving money.
Equities closed a mixed session Thursday, with the Dow edging up fractionally while the S&P five hundred finished essentially flat and the Nasdaq shed nearly half a percent. Fresh inflation data from the May core PCE reading kept buyers cautious, though Micron's strong earnings gave semiconductors a lift against broader tech weakness.
Staying in tech, Microsoft is on pace for one of its worst June performances in decades. Investors who bought the stock for its free cash flow profile are now being asked to fund a massive capital spending cycle tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure, and many are simply walking away. The selloff reflects a broader market debate about when AI spending actually converts to earnings.
On the energy desk, crude staged a sharp reversal Thursday, with August West Texas Intermediate closing up more than two percent after reports surfaced about potential disruption near the Strait of Hormuz. That waterway handles roughly a fifth of global oil supply, so any credible threat to its status sends traders scrambling to cover short positions fast, and that is exactly what happened.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
